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Posted: 03/15/02
© 2002 Filmmonthly.com
The Shield (2002) FX bridges the gap for quality TV dramas with The Shield. |
 As the series opens, poster boy Captain David Aceveda, the PC choice when opportunity knocked, is giving a press conference about the make-believe Farmington District of Los Angeles and the great strides being undertaken by the police to improve race relations, reduce crime, and make life worth living for so many hopeless masses. Intercut with this are scenes of Detective Vic Mackey (the feverish Michael Chiklis) leading his elite Strike Team unit through the harshest section of Farmington, cornering their prey in front of a crowd of decent neighborhood folk, pantsing the perp and ripping a bundle of crack from the man's crotch, where it was taped to his privates. This dichotomy serves not only to titillate the audience, but also to illustrate that many things are not what they seem within the po-leece. "Straight" detectives Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach and Claudette Tyms (the fantastic CCH Pounder), use painstaking police work to solve their crimes, in stark contrast to the knocking-down-doors and fist-in-the-face antics of Mackey and his Strike Team. We are shocked with the nude body of a victim on the floor, as Dutch comments to Claudette about the dead woman's "rack." Soon he's fending off the dead woman's crying sister, who has fallen to her knees in front of a group of jaded cops, smirking and making obscene gestures behind the woman's back. Turns out the young dead woman had a seven year-old daughter, and she's gone. We eventually discover that she was sold by the ex-husband to a pedophile. Thus the season of FX's The Shield is given a rousing send-off. There are more shocks to come as this series sets out to surpass NYPD Blue, The Sopranos and Six Feet Under as the best new drama of the season. Tightly written by creator Shawn Ryan, The Shield's first episode promises to reach that lofty perch, that is if the producers, cast, and director can maintain the intense, dramatic, humorous, shocking, and riveting standard of this powerful launch. Direction is by Clark Johnson, actor and director of many episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street. There are other familiar faces from Homicide as well: Reed Diamond and Max Perlich have guest roles in the opening episode. And at times the camera work is reminiscent of the shaky, hand-held style which was signature for that very fine police drama. But where Homicide was all human drama, The Shield is often shock and surprise. The characters seem bent upon doing that which is counter to their better judgment, mostly to satisfy some greater need. The suggestion here is that being a cop bears such moral weight as to make even the most startling acts appear to have some deeper meaning. But, hey, this is only the first episode, and they have to keep our interest for the remainder of the season.I admit that my favorite television show is probably Homicide: Life on the Street. And I do regularly watch C.S.I., NYPD Blue, The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. Yeah, it ain't easy not having a life. And now it's harder, because I'll probably start watching The Shield every week. Thank goodness it's on right after NYPD Blue, or else I'd have to start some twelve-step program. Del Harvey is the founder of Filmmonthly. He has recently returned to LA from Chicago to get back into all that show biz insanity firsthand. Got a problem? Email us at onthebox@go.com |